UBS, Deutsche Bank in asset management merger talks: FT

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FILE PHOTO: The logo of Swiss bank UBS is seen in Zurich, Switzerland October 25, 2018. REUTERS/Arnd Wiegmann

(Reuters) - The asset management arms of Deutsche Bank AG and Swiss bank UBS Group AG are in “serious” merger talks, the Financial Times reported on Tuesday, citing people familiar with the discussions.

The talks have been going on for two months, the newspaper reported, adding that if the deal were to materialize, the combined business would have just over 1.4 trillion euros ($1.57 trillion) of assets under management.

A structure under consideration is for UBS to hive off its asset management business and fold it into DWS, which is mostly owned by Deutsche Bank, the newspaper said.

Earlier this month, Bloomberg reported that UBS was evaluating options for its asset management business, including a partial sale or merger of the business.

UBS, Deutsche Bank and DWS said they had no comment on the report.

Reporting by Kanishka Singh in Bengaluru; Tom Sims in Frankfurt and Brenna Hughes Neghaiwi in Zurich. Editing by Jane Merriman